A recent food festival event had something called 50 Shades of Charcoal.

McFadden says more than 15 vendors whipped up more than two dozen creations, from savory to sweet.

“It dissolves really well in homogeneous, creamy foods,” she said. “The one that comes to mind most is ice cream.”

But in New York City, the health department has banned activated charcoal. Officials say it’s not an approved food additive.

In medicine, activated charcoal is used as an emergency treatment for certain kinds of poisoning or overdoses. It helps prevent the toxins from being absorbed from the stomach into the body.

Doctors say there aren’t enough studies to show its benefit in food.

“It may cause constipation, because when we use this in medicine, the charcoal kind of sits in the stomach. It binds everything we want it to, but it doesn’t clear very well,” Dr. Ryan Cudahy, of Dignity Health Medical Group, said.